Men Who Paddle Pink

Here's that sneaky Current Designs Suka still teasing me by staying well out of my reach and it's in pink (some would call it magenta). Pink would so clash with my red PFD.

I've heard this boat is hard to demo and finding it so for me, but those who have give it good reviews. I'll catch up with it eventually. Smaller paddlers seem to have to work harder to meet up with their boats.

Suka means fast in native Alaskan (Inuit), so of course, I'm going to like it. I'm also admiring the secure hatches on the Current Designs boats and other boat models after easily popping off the super soft and sticky Kajak Sport rear hatch on my new Maelstrom Vital and piercing a big hole in it at the same time with my kayak knife (still secure in its plastic sheath on my PFD) while practicing a simple cowboy scramble re-entry up the back deck in calm water.

I sat there straddling my fantastic new boat on a beautiful day thinking, "Great, I've rescued myself, and seriously compromised my boat! My secured kayak knife easily pierced my hatch cover like butter when I pulled myself up over and across it and I didn't even feel it. Good thing I noticed it. Wow. I've done this maneuver on other boats no problem and no damage. If I was out camping for a few days or alone for a day paddle in rough water or heavy rain, what the heck would I do? My rear compartment would fill up with water. With my Maelstrom boat, do I need to bring spare hatches or plastic and duck tape for temporary repairs every time I go out? All the gear in my rear hatch would be wet too."

I also sat there for a while longer suddenly remembering all the boats I've seen, and also owned that had very secure hatches. "Hmmm, so that's why! Who would think this could happen!"

The manufacturer (Kajak Sport) says their rubber hatch covers are "extremely durable". I beg to differ. The really soft ones don't seem to be! They are super easy to put on and take off though! The Maelstrom boats have oval rear hatch covers. You might want to take note of the model number because you may have to buy a new one just like me, which cost $67.

I've never had a damaged hatch cover before and certainly don't feel very secure with these. You can't repair them either, only temporarily patch them up until you get home and order a new one.

So now my attention is suddenly turning to hatch covers. The ones on the Suka are looking pretty good to me right now. I wish I could buy something sturdier and more secure at least for the back hatch of my Maelstrom. In the meantime, I bought a soft round rubber key protector and attached it to the tip of my kayak knife sheath to make it less pointy.

Happy paddling and finding your perfect paddle mate(s)!
The Baffin Paddler

Why am I the Baffin Paddler?

People keep asking me, "Who is the Baffin Paddler?"
I'm not sure either. But here's a clue.

I may add more to this page as I find out. I hate definitions.

People say now that I own a Maelstrom Vital 166, I'm no longer the BaffinPaddler. Is that so?! We'll see about that.

I still own a Boreal Baffin. It's the first boat that made me stop, wonder, think, and want to learn more about paddling. I really had no choice either. The Baffin is a great boat, but it weathercocks so badly in wind, any wind, big or small, that I had to learn strokes and edging quickly. I hate the skeg wheel on it too, so I made peace with this boat by taking up a Greenland paddle. The Greenland paddle allows me to quickly and seamlessly adjust my strokes to compensate for the weathercocking of the Baffin and stop fiddling and cursing the skeg! And the Baffin is a great boat for rolling, except for me.

See, the Baffin has done so much for me and my paddling. I've had such great times with it in all kinds of water and it's also annoyed the heck out of me. A balanced relationship for sure!

But, my new Malestrom Vital 166 is the boat that gives me hope for learning how to roll. There are things I like better about one boat or the other. Sometimes when I'm out on the water, I find myself wishing I could fuse certain aspects of them together and create one perfect boat. But, I'm still the BaffinPaddler. And I'm still looking for that perfect boat. The looking and the journey are part of the fun. There's still so much to find.

Some people also ask me, "What is your blog about? Recipes?"
Yep, that's a remark from a guy. Ha! Come find out. But if you do have any good kayak camp recipes, send em to me. I'll create a Kayak Camp Recipe section on this blog just for the guy paddlers! Maybe even publish a book, so send me pictures of your successful and not so successful creations and the rights to publish them too. Then I can pick out what you can cook for me! I can't camp cook (yet) and will rely on you to do that for me!

Don't you just love people!

If you want to hire the writer for your event, website, or blog contact me at baffinpaddler@hotmail.com or writersbloque@hotmail.com

Happy paddling and looking for your perfect paddle mate(s)!
The Baffin Paddler

P.S. Hanging out sideways in a sea kayak is one of my favorite things to do. Don't ask me why. If the boat does not hang out sideways well, it's not for me. The boat should tease the water and want to play! Despite all that, I don't like whitewater boats at all! It's long, sleek, and fast for me.

Another Maelstrom Vaag gets a Vital Playmate in Newfoundland

Here's a sweet baby blue Maelstrom Vaag hanging out in beautiful Sandy Cove, Newfoundland and it just found a slinky black Vital paddle mate. The two paddle best together I think. I can attest to that. My white and blue Vital paddles sometimes with a red Vaag.

Although I find it odd to be seeing so many black kayaks out there. I'm so fond of the lighter brighter colours. Anyone ever see a pink kayak?

Happy paddling and finding your perfect paddle mate(s)!
The Baffin Paddler

Miska and Kelty

Guess who they belong to. Does it matter? Aren't Huskies just plain intriguing? OK, some are cuter than others! The Ottawa MEC Paddlefest blog post may reveal who they belong to.

What will I find at the upcoming Toronto MEC Paddlefest? Maybe a Suka? A boat or a Husky of the same name?

MEC Paddlefest Ottawa, Ontario, May, 2010, Riot Aura Test Paddle

Perfect weather and a huge turnout at MEC Paddlefest 2010 in Mooney's Bay.

I decided to hang out for a while in the RIOT Aura 18. (You can get them at Ottawa Paddleshack)

As usual, I show up somewhere, and right away one thing will catch my eye and keep it.

The RIOT Aura was right there. It is a good looking, sleek, fast 18 foot boat (I think it has lots of rocker, the manufacturer says moderate) that is too big in the cockpit for me and a real bitch to turn. I hear some people love them. Anyway, you can't really test much or take too many chances with what you do in the murky and questionable waters of Mooney's Bay, so I didn't do much with this kayak except enjoy its speed, and curse it whenever I needed to turn it.

I was there to test touring paddles. I love my skinny stick (Greenland paddle), except when I want to get somewhere moderately fast and keep up with others!

I finally caught up with Peter Whaley, founder of Pure Canadian Adventures and the Current Designs rep. He's from Nova Scotia! Hey! Aren't you pretty far from home? I just assumed our Current Designs rep would be somewhere nearby like Toronto.

I missed him last year at the first National Sea Kayak Symposium (NaSKS) in Palmer Rapids, Ontario. And I really missed him and wished he was there when I took a look at the Current Designs Suka sitting there. I wanted to test paddle it, but he was away. I probably should have snuck it down to the water and hopped in. I wonder who would have noticed? There were only a few hundred people at the event that weekend.

And then this year, at the Ottawa MEC Paddlefest, Peter was there with all the Current Designs boats except the Suka! How does this boat keep eluding me? Anyway, I'll keep trying until I can finally get in it and take it for a spin. I have no clue why the Suka has stayed on my mind but I'd like to find out. Maybe it's the path to get there that is more important.

I'm campaigning for Ottawa to get a wider variety of sea kayaks/touring kayaks for us paddlers to test and play with. It seems we have to work way too hard and travel way too far to get into all these great boats that we mostly only see on the manufacturer's Web sites. Most stores, of course, only want to carry the boats that most commonly sell or suit most people. But if the choices are limited, how do you know what you're really missing? How can you move up your paddle skills without a choice of more performant boats to test and learn with? Ever been in a boat that when you say, "Edge and turn", it says "Huh? What? Is that what you really want. Ask again way harder and maybe I'll budge!"

I own a Boreal Baffin and more recently purchased a fantastic Maelstrom Vital 166. But I still want to test paddle the Suka and find out how we can get some Romany boats around here. So anyone with a Suka, let me know. And if anyone starts stocking Romany boats around here, call me!

Peter had two really cute Huskies in his truck. Such neat dogs, especially when their eyes are two different colours. I asked what their names were twice and still can't remember (should I really be admitting this?). I think they're worth remembering so I'll ask again and if he'll send me a cool pic of them, I'll post it too.

Happy paddling!
The Baffin Paddler

Maelström Kayaks, Vital 166 - SOLD!

Yes, it got me! I got it!

I'll be posting more about Maelströmkayak and following reviews and comments of other Maelström paddlers.

We are the new kids on the block as these boats are fresh on the market.

I bought my Maelström Vital 166 at Ottawa Paddle Shack in May 2010. We need more choices of higher end models around here.

When will we see the Romany sea kayaks in our stores? I love the Romany S but can't find any around here in the National Capital Region of Canada (Ottawa/Ontario, Gatineau/Quebec) Cross fingers. Let's be greedy.

2012 update: Good news: Looks like Maelströmkayak will have some new kayak models coming out in 2012, the Forvag and the Flod. I can't wait to see what new features and design changes they've got!

Sad news: Kayak designers and manufacturer, Boreal Design in Quebec, Canada declared bankruptcy in 2012. Boreal Design was manufacturing Maelströmkayak design models the Vaag 174 and the Vital 166.  After the bankruptcy, Boreal Design was sold to another kayak manufacturer, along with Maelströmkayak's rights to their Vaag and Vital kayak models. Causing much confusion for consumers, and causing much surprise, shock, and dismay for me. Now these kayak models (the Vaag and Vital) are being produced by another manufacturer and are no longer manufactured in Quebec, or in Canada.

According to the president of Maelströmkayak, he will continue to do business to design and produce top quality, high performance kayaks with new Maelströmkayak designs, the Forvag and Flod. It will be an interesting story to follow. Especially for me. I own an original Maelstrom Vital 166, which I purchased the first year they came out.

2013 update: I'll be testing and writing about the cool new features and kayak designs of Maelströmkayak, the Forvag (for the mid-to-larger size paddler) and the Flod, (for the smaller paddler). This is going to be interesting!

Happy paddes!
The BaffinPaddler

Maelström Kayaks

(No, that's not me paddling the Vital. I wish I was that good! It's one of the Maelstrom guys.)

Well, the Maelström kayaks have finally trickled into the Ottawa, Ontario area. I think there are probably only two of them around here for now and they are pretty sweet looking demo boats at Paddle Shack in Ottawa's trendy Westboro neighborhood. One of each, the Vaag 174 and the Vital 166.

They are play boats designed for the high-end paddler. If you aren't a high-end paddler, buying a boat that is will help you get there. You'll have to learn how to really paddle and will have way more fun in the water!

I sat in the Vital today, on the showroom floor with foams underneath. The weather around here is emulating winter! I hope it's just a bad dream with the hail, rain, then snow and sleet (yes in that order), and cold high winds this weekend. No one seems to be on the water testing new boats.

I noticed a few things I probably won't like about the Vital on the water right off the bat, things another paddler mentioned to me already, but I will have to try it on the water before I decide.

Super low coaming. How will you ever get your neo skirt on that . . . fast?! And in rough water?! Do I have to buy a special skirt?! That's what I didn't like about Valley boats and some Impex boats. Boreal seems to understand this. Their boats have ample room in the coaming for getting your skirt on quick. Boreal is manufacturing Maelstrom kayaks. Maybe they should talk? Or they know something I don't and need to find out?

The day hatch behind you is smack in the middle of the boat. It is stiff and impossible to remove it yourself if you turn around and try to wretch it off, and I'm uber flexible! But I figured out another, smarter, much easier way. Sit facing forward, put both arms behind you, with your first two fingers under the notch of the day hatch, gently push up and snap it off. A breeze. To pop it back on . . . you'll have to figure that one out yourself! And I'll have to test that myself on the water.

The Vital has another handy little hatch right in front of you, perfect for a cell phone, GPS, and energy bar.

In the cockpit, Maelstrom boats don't have backbands, and I don't know if I'm going to like where the foam pad hits me in the small of my back once I hit the water. I can't lay back flat on the back deck without scooting my seat forward a bit as the seat is right against the back coaming. I might have to fiddle with the back pad or make some adjustments, but the foam seat itself is very comfortable, and I'm guessing insulating if you paddle in cold water. Metal and plastic seats can be cold.

CKayaker has a review and photos of the Maelstrom Vaag. I'll follow up with these boats and add links to other paddler reviews.

Bottom line is, I still want to get out on the water and play with this boat. It looks like a fast ton of fun!

(Guess what! I test paddled the Vital in May and bought it: See my post: Maelstrom Kayaks, Vital 166. Sold!) 

To find all my other posts and reviews on Maelstrom kayaks, about the chines, performance in wind and waves, rolling, what instructors and paddlers think about the boats, etc, just use the Search this Blog box in the top right corner and type in: Maelstrom or Vital. And if you have comments or reviews on the Maelstrom kayaks, send me a comment, a review, or a pic of yours. I'm collecting news and reviews of Maelstrom kayaks.

2012 Update: Maelstromkayak and Boreal Design are no longer manufacturing and distributing the Vital 166 or Vaag 174 sea kayaks. Boreal Design declared bankruptcy in 2012. The company was sold to another manufacturer along with the Vital and Vaag designs, which are no longer manufactured in Quebec or in Canada. Maelstromkayak has two new high-performance kayak models with new design features: the Forvag and Flod.

The BaffinPaddler in the Maelstrom Vital 166